The Varangian sailor points towards the back of the ship near the stern and says..."We do not have much room for the horses but towards the back is some room for them and the luggage."

The crewman with white blond hair moved quickly to assist the boarding passengers. With a smile he makes an effort -- moving boxes and barrels -- ensure their luggage and horses will be as comfortable as possible. He eyes Jean's shining armor somewhat hungrily, but before it becomes too obvious he quickly responds to another summons to another job.

A'kos arrives.  Standing quayside, he eyes the ship warily - seems more of an oversized boat to his way of thinking.  He sees the scribe aboard already - torn, on the one hand he wishes to see the man's arabian, on the other he hardly trusts himself to lead he and Storm's Wind up the gang plank to the ship's deck.

Slowly he moves forward, but the horse, sensing his anxiety, whickers nervously.

Halting, he turns and calms the beast, smiling at his own cowardice.

"Ah, Storm," he mutters quietly to the beast.  "No worries, eh?  Quick as a spring zephyr we'll have you tied and munching happily on a bag of oats."

Turning, he steels his heart and leads Storm's Wind up the gangplank and onto the deck.

Balthazar is next to board the ship. he does not bring a mount. He is followed closely by both Thorfinn and Miroslav. Miroslav does not bring a mount but instead has what looks to be a seachest in his arms. Once on board he stows it under a bench. He clearly is going to lend a hand at the oars.

The ship itself is halfway between a galley and a knarr. A bit wider than the standard dragon with a few less oars, relying as much on the sail as anything else.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:01, Sat 25 July 2009.

Storm's Wind proves tempermental next to the other mounts, so A'kos ties him up as far from them as the space allows, and stands between he and the others.  His eyes inspect the Arabian expertly, and with a quick glance to see that Storm' is settled, he goes about inspecting the smaller horse's hooves.

"Persian!" he calls as his hand runs gently down the beautiful horse's legs.  "Come tell me of this horse."

After helping load and store Balthazar's gear and Loukas takes a breath and wanders over to where Jean stands. "Pardon me, sir... By your armor I see that you are a Frank. Is this true?

Smiling sheepishly, "I hope you will not mind my prying, but I have never met a Frank before... How have you found Constantinople?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Sun 26 July 2009.

Armin slowly makes his way to where A'kos is inspecting his horse. He says "She is from the finest Arabian stock in all of Persia, from the private stable of the Caliph himself. What do you think of her?"

The question was one which he was not expecting, at least from a crewman of the ship.  Had they met before?  What Jean could tell was this crewman was of unusual stock: his attributes marked his as uncommon

The knight offered a hand  to Loukas in greeting, "I am Jean.  And yes, it is true.  I hail from the land of the Franks.  Well, I haven't been in the city for long, but she seems a mighty city, with a large population, a cultural heritage, and strong walls as well."

"Pray tell, what are you called?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:07, Sun 26 July 2009.

Taking the offered hand the crewman bows his head, "I am Loukas, Sir Jean. I am Loukas Ouranus. Welcome to Constantinople! Though, I suppose you are leaving now, so I hope that you have enjoyed your time with us..."

Still looking at his feet shyly, "I have heard some tales of your people, but I have never met a Frank before... If I may be of any assistance to you while you are aboard, I hope will call upon me."

"She's a beauty," nods A'kos with a critical eye.  "I suspect she ran like a tempest in her younger days."

Roderychus takes his mount to board and loads his belongings silently.

Having the entire crew and passengers assembled on the ship, Thorfinn gives the command to head out to sea. Backs of the crew and any passenger that wishes to bend at the oars propelling the craft out into the harbor, the dock area growing smaller ever second.

Within a quarter of an hour the ship is in the open water and the sail is employed along with the oars and the ship is making great time. Thorfinn and Dobryny look very happy and comment that with the favor of the gods, that they will be ahead of schedule.

Disappointed by the Scribe's lack of tongue at his thinly veiled jibe, A'kos shrugged and patted the Arabian on its neck, and whispered soothing words.

Turning, he made his way to Storm's Wind, the stallion still out of sorts on the open water.  Leaning against the rail he looked about at the open sea, his mouth quirking in a grin at a sight he'd never seen before.

"Stop complaining, Wind," he muttered with a gentle laugh.  "It sparkles like diamonds on a dancers belly."

When Thorfinn gave the command to get the ship underway, Loukas quickly bows his head and excuses himself, "Ah, pardon me, Jean, I must attend my duties!"

He then dashes to his post at the fourth starboard oar...

Miroslav the Rus just happens to be seated at the bench that Loukas takes. He smiles at the white haired young man and says..."Yes, join me at the oar!"

He then leans closer and says something in a low tone.

Settling in on the bench next to the Rus, Loukas laughs, "Don't mind if I do, big man!"

His face holds its smile as he settles in next to Miroslav and replies in an equally low tone as the big man as they prepares for the ship's launch.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Wed 29 July 2009.

Turning from the sea, A'kos notes the strange behavior of the young man, and the quiet conversation between he and the Rus.  Leaning against the rail he watches as the two begin to oar.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:32, Wed 29 July 2009.

Jaleh had been scaling the rigging and checking the sails when the call to leave port came. She then finished what she was doing and hurried down to the deck where she moved her selected position on one of the oars. Not for the first time she wondered just what she was doing on a ship. She considered that she must have lost her mind or gotten possessed, even though she felt perfectly sane now and remembered everything.

There had been a need for her to leave the city quickly and while deciding how best to do that, she'd heard about the unusual northman hiring crew for his ship and specifically seeking a few women. It could only have been the gods trying to tell her which way to go and she had always been one to listen to the gods, even if at times they seemed utterly insane themselves.

As he was studying the two, his eyes turned to the unmistakable form of a woman walking down the aisle to take a seat at an oar.  Bemused, he studied the lithe form, taking note of the deeply burnished skin and appreciating it from afar.

Noticing one of the new men on board looking her over closely, Jaleh looked back his way to flash a smile and wink and eye before returning her attention completely to the task of rowing. She was certain that not only his eyes would be on her, watching as she strained with the effort of moving the oar.

A'kos grinned back at the bold woman.

"Ah," he muttered, "a jewel is found among stone."

Making his way forward, he sat next to the woman.

"I would row for awhile as well," he offered, flashing a ready smile.

Jaleh smiled again as she looked up at the man and then slid over a little to allow him room. "Be my guest, please. My name is Jaleh, I feel that I will welcome your arm in this soon."

Arranging himself on the bench, A'kos reaches out to the oar, and begins to move in the slow, easy rhythm set by the drumbeat.

"I am called A'kos," he says offhandedly, his attention on matching her pace.  "I am a Magyar, a horselord, and am called 'the Falcon' by those who know me well."

"Tell me how you come to be on this ship, Jaleh," he asks, after a few strokes.  "Surely you are not part of the permanant crew." 

Thorfinn who had been walking the deck stops by and answers for Jaleh...or at least partially answers..."If Nicephorus had known how undermanned we sailed into the port, he never would have hired us. We lost several crew members on our way to Byzantium, not lost in a bad way, they decided to stay at one of our stops. We were already a wee bit short so it really hurt us."

He looks at Jaleh and the somewhat butch looking woman seated behind her on the benches and says...Twenty years ago when my wife was giving birth to our first child, I almost lost both of them. The midwife claimed all was lost unless I promised Frigg, the wife of odin, a favor to assist in the birth. My wife and sone made it though fine and the very next night, Frigg appeared to me in a dream and told me that my crews must always include women. I don't claim to understand the gods but I listen to them when they are so direct."